His crayons pressed hard on paper as he tried to express his feelings. He drew a huge tank with it's cannon pointed at a tiny figure - a stop sign in it's hand. Someone understood and reached out to touch the little dying boy. Before his death, the boy drew another picture: a large bird soaring - yellow crayon on the tips of its extended wings: "What is that?" somebody asked. "That is the PEACEBIRD, and I have sunlight on my wings."

That PEACEBIRD is a symbol of a movement - a movement to bring peace, understanding, yes, and real joy to the men and women who face death. The prophetess of the movement is Dr: Elisabeth-Kubler-Ross. Her seminars and books have helped thousands to cope with the realities of sickness and death.

In the midst of the movement stands Deanna Edwards, guitar in hand. She is wife, she is mother to four sons and she is an artist. But most of all she is a sensitive human soul who sings to bring peace - to a woman dying of cancer, to a man with no legs, to a child with respiratory ailment, to a youth overdosed on speed. She is a volunteer music therapist who composes orginal music to meet the needs of the lonely, the suffering, the afraid.

Deanna wrote the song, "Teach Me To Die" for Dr. Kubler-Ross. She wrote it because she wanted to communicate more deeply than words alone do: "Teach me to die, give all you can give; If you'll teach me of dying, I will teach you to live." Dr. Ross says of the song, "I have traveled throughout the United States and Europe. You have no idea how many people are touched by our song, 'Teach Me To Die.' You can be assured that it conveys what I am trying to communicate with my work. I think it is classic."

Deanna, who has been singing for hospital patients for several years before she met Dr. Kubler-Ross, believes the less she knows about a patient, the more effective she can be. "I ask patients what kind of music they want to hear - pop, spiritual, folk, - but I never ask their favorite song. I remember my first patient. I sang, 'You've Got A Friend'." The woman looked at me and said, "How did you know I was going to die?"

Deanna's music does not just stare death in the face. It plays in the backyard of the cosmos, inviting people to "Catch A Little Sunshine." It pleads for the life of an unborn child, proclaims a "Brand New World," celebrates the love of an elderly couple. But most of all, it reaches out a hand to everyone in need. PEACEBIRD is not just the story of a little dying boy. Rather it is a musical parable for everyone - everyone who has ever laughed, ever cried, ever been afraid of the unknown.